Who will block, delay or even question the government on its EU exit strategy? Not, it is increasingly clear, the opposition

Last week I was in Sleaford, Lincolnshire: a market town, population 17,000, with a very middle-English mixture of Barratt houses and boarded-up shops, and a political atmosphere defined by the increasingly fraught aftermath of the EU referendum.

Thanks to the resignation of its former Tory MP, Stephen Phillips, a leave supporter who admirably quit over the government’s high-handed attitude to parliament, there will be a byelection in the constituency of Sleaford and North Hykeham on 8 December, which the Tories will easily win. However, since 62% of people in this part of the country voted to leave the EU, the visit offered an opportunity to find out where Brexit Britain is now at.